Leupold shortcomings

[The Oregonian]

I know Leupold is not universally loved here, but curious to know what the cause is. I grew up hunting deer in north Georgia where 200 yds was a long shot, so most scopes had to just hold a zero and be fairly good optically.

Fast forward and now I am getting more into long range...just curious where Leupold falls short in the eyes of most.

Is it clarity, durability, customer service, price (or value - I.e. What youngest for price), tracking and repeatability, durability, etc? My gut from reading people here is the tracking and repeatability but want to hear from others.

 

[Engineering101]

I hunted with a VX-6 in 3-18X50 last season. Clear optics at any zoom, 20 MOA per rev on the covered low profile turrets, light, compact, easy popup to zero. It worked great so I can not provide any info on what might be wrong with them. My one customer service experience on a broken scope ring screw was good as they replaced the entire ring including screw - no questions asked.

 

[HARPERC]

I've got a few,and don't fall into either the love them or hate them camp. Their service once universally good, can be mixed. I've had them send me a brand new bino-range finder that i broke. Then we've had to send a couple of items back up to 3 times to even acknowledge there was a problem much less fix it. Part of the appeal of Leupolds fame came from a bulletproof warranty. Now you really should read it for any item you might purchase.
Competition, others entered the market, and if not exceeded, met the standards for less money, especially in products for long range hunting or shooting.
Not directly to the point, but trying to cover the entire market hasn't done much for the middle and upper end scopes. A few scopes here and there that were priced high end, don't function as advertised, followed by mediocre service, left an opening others were eager to fill.
I've had good luck with the Mark 4's, and if you're trying to make weight with a rifle it belongs in the race.
I plead guilty to a little bit of "loyalty" or "habit" in my purchases, but recognize dollar for dollar you can likely do as well.

 

[idaho elk hunter]

You stated it best when you said there is not much said here. Most people just jump on the band wagon and do not have any experience with what they are talking about. Other brands become internet famous due to these "know it all" individuals. They have good service and best the big "V" that is here often.

Beware of the China imports that are fakes and the cheap priced Leupolds that are not made here. For a cheap scope they are great, but for the life of me I can not figure out why they did not market them under a Wind River name to keep the Leupold name connected with Quality.

If you have the funds check out Schmidt & Bender

 

[The Oregonian]

To be clear, I am not looking to argue or dispute any opinions people have. I was pretty loyal to Leupold prior to getting into long range but recently went with a March scope for my custom, but I am no fan boy.

Just wanting to understand where they fall short in the long range game so I can make a more educated decision on my next gun.

Thx

 

[Engineering101]

If you can afford a March scope why would you even think about going with Leupold?

 

[gebhardt02]

For me it came down to optical performance (4 different mark 4's which were good, but I've had better) and click feel. The optics were fine really, not bad by any means. But I've had other scopes that I preferred better for optical performance (clarity, contrast, resolution). Click feel is not very good at all though from several other scopes I've used. The clicks just felt mushy and non-distinct on the mark 4's. I've since gotten rid of the Leupold stuff I own except for a specific scope that I've had for ages, a couple hunting scopes on my .22 and a factory hunting rifle, and my Mark 4 spotting scope.

Geb

 

[StrutNut]

I have owned a lot of Leupold's. Almost all were VX III's. I have no experience with warranty and customer service as I never needed it. I still have one of those VX III's on a BAR 7mm mag. Its a great combination. I plan on picking up a go to hunt anything any range hunting rifle. One would think I would be slapping another one on there right away but not the case. At the price they are at there are now a lot of options that were not there back when I bought these scopes in the 80's. I like them, they are solid, no complaints but I think at the price point they are at there are a lot of other options to strongly consider.

 

[Mikecr]

Mk4s in 8.5x25x50 with alumina flip-ups are my favorite scopes,, and money isn't a problem for me.
On the other hand, I would not buy any lower models than this. No reason for most of em.

 

[Zerk]

I am just not interested guns or optics from China. It is why I go to work, so I don't have to. It is also what gives me a job.

 

[azsugarbear]

When I first got into LR hunting and shooting, all my rifles wore Leupold VXIII scopes. I loved their glass and light weight. I grew up with them as the best option out there, so I guess I was a big fan. But when I got into LR shooting and started to dial up/down more, I began to have problems with tracking. I ended up sending the same scope back three different times. Although I never had a problem with their customer service, it should not have taken three trips to solve the problem. That's what started me looking elsewhere.

The second - and even bigger reason for leaving Leupold - was their complete lack of innovation. I believe it was a conscious decision initially not to jump on the LR bandwagon. Maybe they thought it was a passing fad. As our sport grew, our needs changed. We wanted reliable, repeatable turrets. We wanted different scope reticles (probably fastest changing feature over the years). We wanted more configurations. Other scope companies responded quickly to our needs. Leupold sat on their hands. Even today they don't offer many reticle choices, and that usually requires a separate trip back to the factory after purchase. Look at all the LR sites that cater to LR shooters. You will see many scope manufacturers visible as sponsors, but Leupod is nowhere to be found on these sites as a sponsor. Companies like Vortex, Sightron, Nightforce and others grew and changed with us and were responsive to our changing needs. In my book, "ya dance with who brung ya". I have yet to find a reason to go back.

 

[Senderofan]

I could not have expressed this any better! My thoughts exactly!

 

[Prieto9000]

I used leupold scopes for many years in the past, but somewhere around 2007 I decided to try some other brands until I bought a 6.5-20X50 Vortex Viper around 2009. From that day until today I use only vortex scopes from HS-T´s to Razor HD´s on my tactical/LRH rifles. There´s nothing leupold can offer at the same price point as a Vortex Scope. I´m not complaining about the price, I use Swarovski Z6 scopes on my hunting rifles, but I just don´t think Leupold scopes are worth what you pay for them in any of their lines. They have scopes that cost as much or almost as much as a S&B. In what planet is a Leupold on par with a S&B or a Hensoldt scope?? I´ve had some CS issues and more important, you don´t need a product with great CS, you need a product that won´t fail. Just imagine calling CS in the middle of an elk hunt because your scope is not working anymore!!! I personally had a scope that stopped tracking (that´s what made me look elsewhere) and seen that same problem with a close friend. That in addition to some more stories of scopes failing and having to be sent for warranty repairs, and the out of their league prices just made me stay away from their products. I can´t see myself buying any leupold product in the near future

 

[meatyrem]

I think I can agree with everyone here on at least all points. I think they aren't bad and when I was growing up all I heard about was leupold and how well built they are and how you can beat them. Have six. Vx-3 vx-2 nothing lower and nothing higher. I have not had any problems with them at all and my hat is off for the reason that my 460 S&W wears a vx-3 and it is holding up well to that punishment. But I agree with what others are saying by them not keeping up with niches and seems like they are just hanging on to their name. I personally don't have a problem with them other than the prices are high for what you get. I am trying vortex for the first time. Hst. So we will see